The Redemption of Furious Ming
by Dred Ross
Summary: Five years after the fall of the Sun Brothers, Ming finds himself accused of horrible things and hardly the hero of the Jade Empire he thought he was. If only he could remember what had happened...
1. Chapter 1

This story is written for those who finished the game more or less Open Palm and as a male player having chosen the "noncommittal" romance with both Dawn Star and Silk Fox.

Positive reviews are welcome but not necessary. I am more interested in hearing what you don't like -- if and where you get bored, confused, or otherwise stop reading. Thanks, and I do hope you find the bulk of it enjoyable!

**PROLOGUE**

Lord Lao considered himself, first and foremost, to be an inventor, and a rather explosive one at that. But when he wasn't designing his latest mad scheme or tinkering with the laws of physics or otherwise blowing things up just for the fun of it, he found that he enjoyed the telling of a good tale. And having personally endured the trials of tribulations of the Jade Empire's greatest hero, he had come to acquire a very good collection of stories. He presently found himself sharing one--which he referred to as 'The Redemption of Furious Ming' or 'A Tragedy of Love and Lust' depending on his mood--with a very attentive group of young fox spirits.

Fox spirits were curious creatures by nature, and fox spirit children even more so. They gathered around him on the floating grassy knoll tucked behind a secluded cloud in their own fox spirit version of heaven, and stared up at him with their large inquisitive eyes.

"This story begins five years after the fall of the Sun brothers," Lord Lao spoke, in his customary high-pitched yet professorial voice. "You remember that one, yes?"

The fox spirits all nodded in unison.

"Yes, well that one had a reasonably happy ending. But few things truly end completely, so let's start anew five years hence and see what happened to the hero of the Jade Empire. Or perhaps I should say, fallen hero…"

**CHAPTER 1**

Ming couldn't remember the last time he had been physically restrained. Perhaps when he had been a child, but certainly not in recent years. And yet strong arms held him down now, crushing his face into the cold stone of the darkened room. He felt confusion at first, and then terrible rage. _How insulting. I will kill them all! _He tried to rise but the searing pain upon his skin told him he was beyond escape, bound by chains that tingled with the hint of a magical imbuing. He forced his head to the side and glared malevolently up at the lone source of light--a torch, clutched by a delicate hand. The torch moved lower, and an indistinct face appeared above it. A woman's face.

"By my ancestors, you were right," said the woman. "I wouldn't have believed it without seeing the tattoos myself. Light the room!"

Ming knew she was referring to the elaborate dragon artwork that reached from his waist to his neck and from shoulder to shoulder. The one indulgence his master had allowed him as a young man, it also made him immediately recognizable to those who knew the patterns well. And this woman certainly knew the patterns well...

The lights flared as several other torches around the room sputtered to life. Ming gasped as he recognized the face of the woman holding the torch. Even if he hadn't seen her face, the clothes belied her station as high royalty, the long wisps of gold and pearl white silk woven together in a gown befitting a goddess.

"Lily!"

Gasps echoed throughout the hollow walls of what Ming now guessed was a prison or dungeon. A hand as hard as rock came crashing down on his skull, slamming his face into the hard floor.

"Stop!" the regally dressed woman commanded, her voice strong and imperious.

"Aw, come on, he can take it," said a deep male voice, even as the hand pulled Ming's head up for another smash. Ming strained a glance out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help but grin through the blood that trickled from his lacerated brow. _Black Whirlwind. No wonder I can't move._

A second woman stepped forward from the shadows, this one dressed in the uniform of the Imperial Army.

"How dare you speak to the _Heavenly _Lily that way?" she demanded. "After all that you've done... you should at least show the proper respect. What happened to you, Ming?"

"Thank you, Captain Kia," the regal woman continued, "but I sense this is not the Furious Ming we used to know." She looked down at him, her eyes a mixture of anger and pity, and then her voice took on the mocking tone he hadn't heard since their earliest meetings. "Not so Furious now, are you Ming?"

Ming fought off a fresh upwelling of anger but the confusion remained. How did he get here? Why was everyone accusing him? The only thing he knew for sure was that he was in some kind of trouble, and of the people in the room, the Heaven Lily was the one with the most authority. He would have to appeal to her.

"I'm sorry, Princess Lian," he mumbled as sincerely as he could manage.

Another murmur of shock traveled throughout the cold chamber, and the enormous hand holding him by the hair tightened as if to slam him down again. With a single motion from the Heavenly Lily's hand, however, the stillness returned. "That would be Empress Lian, or have you forgotten the last five years of my reign?"

Ming felt a tightness in his chest. Five years! He remembered the fall of the brothers Sun, remembered striking the final blow against the second of the two brothers. Sun Li had been his own master, but that blow had been necessary. His defeat had ended the darkest period in the empire's history. But what had happened after that? Ming found only darkness and confusion in his memories, certainly not five years worth of anything.

"Raise him up," the empress commanded. She looked him straight in the eye without flinching. Her face had always been beautiful, and the flowing silk tresses did little to hide the curves of her figure that he remembered so well from their moment in Dirge. That night had brought them all much pleasure, although it had been a guilty pleasure to be sure. He remembered all too well the embarrassment on the face of his childhood friend, Dawn Star, as the princess had taken her hands and drawn her to him.

Now, however, there was nothing in the eyes of the empress--_empress! when was the coronation ceremony?_--that suggested even a hint of warmth for Ming.

"I don't remember anything," Ming said, knowing it probably sounded foolish.

"Is that _really_ all you have to say?" she said, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"What did I do?" he asked.

The Black Whirlwind tried to stifle a giggle, but it came out as a low rumble. "Sounds like he's been drinking."

"You've really been ruling for _five_ years?" Ming asked.

The empress rolled her eyes and exhaled in frustration. "Don't try to play stupid, Ming! Do you have any idea what position this puts me in?"

"It can't be half as bad as the one I'm in," Ming managed with half a grin.

She slapped him hard, but the blow was more psychological than physical. "You were always a little callous, but when did you stop caring completely? Do you have any idea how this makes me feel? How it makes any of us feel?"

Ming glared at all of them. "Do you have any idea how _I_ feel? I just lost five years of my life! Now, what the hell did I do to deserve this?"

He struggled against his bonds even as he knew it was futile.

The empress looked him over as if appraising his veracity, or insanity, then looked at her captain of the guard. Kia Min stepped forward and proceeded to speak in a stern voice.

"You stand accused of desertion from the Imperial Army, of raiding villages throughout the empire, of murdering innocent citizens--"

Ming scoffed, the sound coming out as a harsh cough. "That's ridiculous. First of all, why would I join the Imperial Army?"

"Silence!" Captain Kia shouted. "By far, your greatest offense against the empire occurred last night, when you brazenly attacked the imperial palace."

"I did what? Why would I do that?"

The empress spoke this time, her eyes bearing into him. "I'd like to know that as well, especially since you broke into the Imperial Bedroom and killed one of my decoys."

Now it was Ming's turn to stare in disbelief. Despite the anger that boiled in his veins, he could not imagine anything that would motivate him to kill Sun Lian, the Heavenly Lily. Sure, she had been imperious, haughty and even selfish when they had traveled together, but that was her nature and the result of a royal upbringing. She had also proven to be decent, honorable, and pretty good in a fight; and on top of that, she had given him the greatest gift a woman could give--her own body. If anything, she should have had the grievance with him.

Her eyes burned into his, and for the briefest of moments, Ming knew shame. If what everyone said was true, then he had obviously lost his mind and deserved whatever punishment he had coming.

"If you must kill me, let me die in combat," he muttered in resignation.

"I would be honored to do the honors," the Black Whirlwind rumbled.

"No!" the Empress commanded. "There will be no more killing tonight. But I can't let you stay, either, Ming. That leaves me with only one option…"


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

Ming thought he would shake apart, so badly were his teeth chattering. _My sentence is death by aerial turbulence_.But the hours went by, and no matter how badly the wooden capsule shook, it never actually fell apart. He could still hear the words of the Empress as she bade him farewell on the same hangar deck where they had once landed to bring an end to the wicked reigns of both her uncle and father. "The bonds that hold you will automatically break upon your arrival. And don't worry, Lord Lao assures me the auto-pilot is quite safe."

While Ming didn't fully understand the arcane mechanical arts, he found himself appreciating their application as the capsule eventually glided downwards and came to a bouncing stop in a grassy field somewhere near the western edge of the empire. As promised, the magical tingling of the chains holding him ceased, and he snapped the links easily, feeling the strength return to his limbs. He opened the capsule door, stepped out into a hazy afternoon glare, and gasped.

_Two Rivers!_ It looked different now, but he still recognized the beach where he had spent so many days of his youth focusing, meditating and practicing his forms. Where the old statue of Emperor Sun Hai once stood, a newer, taller, and slimmer figure cut out of jade now gazed imperiously over the waters: Empress Sun Lian. _So, she really is Empress now, _Ming thought.

It made sense that he found himself in Two Rivers. He went over more of the parting words of the Empress. "It is the opinion of Doctor An that you may be possessed by spirits," she had told him.

"You realize Doctor An is blind?" Ming had responded.

"All the more reason to trust her intuition in these matters. In any case, as much as it pains me to mention her, I can think of no one more qualified to assess such a possibility than our old… friend… Dawn Star."

The auto-pilot would find Dawn Star, she had also told him. And so it had. Now that he had arrived, he could think of no other place that Dawn Star would have chosen to settle down in. All the homes that had been destroyed, the trees, plants and flowers that had been charred to a crisp, no doubt she would have wanted to rebuild, replant and begin again. He took one last look at the beach and headed up the familiar path that would lead to the town.

"And if Dawn Star can't help me?" he had asked the empress.

"Then consider yourself exiled. And really, I won't hesitate to kill you if you return."

As he glanced at the bucolic beauty all around him, he realized Two Rivers wouldn't be such a bad place in which to be exiled. The sounds of activity drifted down the path to him, and his heart stirred as he passed under the restored beachside arch to find the main town in remarkably good shape. All of the burned-out blackened buildings he remembered had been torn down and in their place stood fresh facades made of stone and wood, with many shop owners peddling their wares in the streets or from the doorways. Flowers had been planted along the edges of the shops, and young trees lined the walkways. He didn't recognize anyone, and no one seemed to recognize him, but the energy of the town was real and unmistakable. Two Rivers was alive and thriving.

Ming continued upwards, past the new weapon smith's shop, past a freshly constructed residential area, to the old school that stood looking out over the small town. The sign that used to read "Master Li's School" was gone, and in its place hung a simple plaque with a long, slender flower upon it. After some thought, he was able to recall the flower's name--the crimson dragon tulip--and remembered that it had been one of Dawn Star's favorites. _At least I haven't forgotten everything._

With some hesitation, he reached out to the heavy doors of the school and let himself in.

Dawn Star was directing work in the sixth of her twelve gardens, this one dedicated to the serenity of mind and spirit. Students dug small trenches with hand shovels and carefully placed the seeds of the midnight primrose, while others tended the seedlings of the purple willows. She felt a cool breeze upon her face, carrying with it the fragrances of all her gardens, and felt herself overcome by a deep sense of peace. _I am home, _she told herself, closing her eyes and smiling up at the heavens.

She could not have been more unprepared for the shock that awaited her when she opened her eyes. Across the courtyard of the school, in plain view of everyone present, a strong, bare-chested man with tattoos spilling onto his arms stood and waited. She reached out to steady herself as her mind swooned. _Ming! Why have you returned? Why torment me so?_

Her first impulse was to turn and run, to save herself from the memory of such loss. _Abandonment_. It was the one thing she feared most in life, even more than death itself, and yet abandonment was exactly the fate that Ming had delivered her so many years ago, and after she had shared so much, revealed so much, and… the memories of their night in Dirge came flooding back, against her wishes. She fell to her knees, feeling weak, and placed a trembling hand upon the cool earth of her garden. _How can I see him now?_

Ming marched across the courtyard. _She's turned the place into an arboretum?_ There were a pair of students sparring in the center of the enclosure, but their movements and strikes seemed more ceremonial than anything else. He didn't recognize the style of fighting, but it looked about as dangerous as Heavenly Wave.

_Ah, there she is._ There was something about Dawn Star and the color of dark red. She never wore any other color, and even now, he could recognize her without seeing her face, which was lowered over a section of garden that was being freshly dug by the students. He headed straight towards her and couldn't help but feel a bit of nostalgia as he crossed the grounds. This was their school, where they had grown up, where they had played together and laughed together as children, long before he had ever noticed she was a woman.

"Dawn Star!" he cried out in genuine joy, only to be caught short as she looked up at him. Her face was streaked with tears.

"Why have you come back?" she asked through a choked voice. At the sound of her pained inquiry, the students around her ceased their gardening and formed a protective semi-circle around her. One of the larger ones brandished a rake in a threatening manner, and Ming instinctively adjusted his own stance.

But what could he possibly do? The last thing he wanted was to wallop a bunch of flower-planting nature kids. There was only thing he could do under the circumstances: He dropped his fists and threw himself on the ground, his face down and hands above his head.

"Whatever I've done to you, I apologize!" he moaned. "If you wish me to leave, just say so, and I will go. But if not, I need your help… one last time."

As he waited and listened, he knew he was defenseless in his prostate position. But he also knew someone of Dawn Star's heart would never take advantage of him in such a fashion. Sure enough, after a long moment, he felt a soft hand on his forearm. He looked up to see Dawn Star's hand on his arm, and she was nodding. Her eyes were distant and still stained with tears, but her touch was real, and it felt warm.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

The tea was hot upon his lips, and its fragrance filled Ming with memories of winter and spring in Master Li's school. He drank it gratefully as Dawn Star watched him, her eyes a mixture of anticipation and dread. Around them the graceful confines of Dawn Star's restored home made him feel at ease.

After some hesitation, she spoke: "I didn't think you would return, ever."

"Why not?"

A pained expression creased her forehead just above the bridge of her nose. It was the same expression as when they had both been children, and Ming had always found it rather cute. This time, though, it only made him feel remorse.

"Whatever I did to you, I am truly sorry. But--"

"It's nothing you did!" she exclaimed, interrupting him. Then she composed herself and looked down. "It was what I did, or didn't do. I didn't think you would really leave, after everything we had gone through. Don't get me wrong, I didn't mind sharing your affections with that _woman_, the lovely princess, or rather Empress now…"

"You're a princess, too," Ming said, but knew it sounded lame as soon as it left his mouth. He had never been good at sweet talk.

"By blood only, not by upbringing! And that's not the point! The point is, I was prepared to share your affections with _her_, but I wasn't prepared for your leaving. I just couldn't handle that."

Ming waited, expecting the worst was yet to come. When Dawn Star merely shook her head and stared forlornly into her tea, Ming had to ask.

"That's it? All I did was leave you?"

She looked up, momentarily shocked. Then her eyes hardened. "Why you wretched--"

"No! That's not what I meant. What I meant was, I didn't try to kill you? Or burn down your school? Or anything _really_ horrible?"

She stared at him, unsure if he was mocking her or just plain crazy.

"Listen to me," he continued. "I don't remember anything from the last five years. I've been told I was a real bastard during that time."

_Yeah, you could say that again_, Dawn Star thought.

"Apparently, I've been raiding villages and murdering people and--"

Dawn Star gasped. "I'd heard the rumors, but it's not true is it?"

"That's just it, I don't know! It could be. Last night, I supposedly tried to kill the empress herself. It was Empress Lian who sent me here."

"Why here?"

"Doctor An thinks I may be possessed by a powerful spirit, but it's not her area of expertise. She found some very strange energy patterns running through my body. She fixed some of them, but _you_ are the one person who is most in touch with the spirit realm. Please, Dawn Star, will you help me?"

She studied him for a long moment, and then her eyes softened. "You know I would always help you, Ming." _Even if it destroys my own peace_, she thought to herself.

Ming felt another brief wash of shame, and from a place deep within him, a longing surfaced that he had not felt for a long time. Dawn Star had always been special to him, but her compassion was beyond compare. He never realized how important that was to him until now, when he was at his most desperate.

"The only problem," she continued, "is that I don't sense anything from you. At least, there is no spiritual malignancy that I can detect."

"But you were always able to notice such things! In Tien's Landing, and Lord Yun's forest, and every ghost we ever met..."

"Yes, and I still do from time to time. But I sense no such spiritual influence in you."

Ming downed the rest of his tea and gazed at the simple wooden cup. "Well hey, maybe I'm cured."

Dawn Star watched him carefully. He didn't seem to believe his own statement, as the concern etched into his forehead revealed. She had also thought of a possibility--a terrible possibility--but she couldn't just blurt it out. From her studies, she knew that spiritual maladies were not the only affliction of the mind and body; and some malignancies only showed themselves in times of conflict. Their discussion over tea, in her home in the heart of her tranquil garden, was hardly the place to draw out such ills.

"Will you spar with me?" she asked. Ming's eyebrows shot up immediately.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Not at all. I just need to pick up a charm to even things out."


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

Dawn Star glanced around at the gray stone walls of the spirit cave and suppressed a shudder. Even without the ghosts, the cold stale air and dark shadows gave it an unsettling aura. She had boarded it up upon returning to Two Rivers, but now it would serve well for the purposes at hand. She walked along the coarse wall of the central cavern, passing her torch along a row of wall sconces. Their flames sputtered to life but did little to ease the gloom.

When she was done, she turned to face Ming, who stood staring up at the indistinct ceiling as if recalling his early training in the cavern.

"I found the first piece here," he said, touching the ornate amulet around his neck. "At the very least, I should take this off before we start."

"Keep it," she replied. "I've got one of my own."

"You've got a dragon amulet?" he asked, incredulous. Then he saw it, flickering in the light from Dawn Star's torch: a small, cube-like object suspended on a chain around her neck. It didn't look anything like his dragon amulet and, in fact, didn't even look like an amulet. If anything, it appeared vaguely mechanical.

"It's the heart of an inscrutable power source," she explained, noting his skeptical look. "It can store enormous amounts of energy, both spiritual and mechanical. Lord Lao gave it to me."

Ming nodded. _Lord Lao, eh?_ _Then I won't even bother trying to understand how it works._ Nothing that mad inventor made ever seemed to make sense, but his inventions usually worked. That is, when they didn't blow up.

Dawn Star placed the torch in a holder and bent over and began stretching, first her legs and then her lower back. She noticed that he was watching her with a curious expression.

"What?" she said, feeling suddenly self-conscious. "We're not as young as we used to be, maybe you should consider stretching too!"

"It's not that," he replied. "I was just wondering why I left you. You look really good, you know, as good as Empress Lian." If she blushed, he couldn't tell in the flickering light of the cavern.

"Don't even start, Furious Ming," she warned in a low voice. "I won't allow you to hurt me again."

"I'm sorry," he said, and he meant it. "We used to flirt before, but obviously things have changed. It's just that I don't remember anything. Can you tell me what happened? After the fall of Sun Li?"

"I will tell you what I know," she said. "But first, defend yourself!"

She somersaulted forward quickly and without warning. He barely managed to step aside as she came out of the tumble with a quick kick. _Legendary Strike._ A solid martial style, but hardly a threat. He decided he would go easy on his old friend, switching his stance to that of Heavenly Wave.

"You do remember defeating Sun Li?" she asked, circling him carefully.

"Yeah, but that's pretty much the last thing I remember."

"Well, after that there was much celebration, and with our support, Princess Sun Lian became Empress Lian."

"Yeah, I figured that part out."

She came at him again, but he easily tumbled to the side, out of harm's way. When they had been kids, they had practiced tumbling, somersaulting, and backflipping for hours on end, and had often wondered if their master was preparing them for a life in the circus.

"What happened next?" he asked.

"We stayed in the Imperial City, helping forge a new empire. But… that just wasn't for me." Dawn Star searched her feelings on the matter. How could she tell him how she had really felt? The truth was, it had just been too difficult 'sharing' him with the Empress. "I asked to return to Two Rivers."

"I thought you said I left you!"

"You did. After you followed me to Two Rivers, professing your 'love' for me. I was… happy." _At first, anyway._ As she followed the memory, though, a frown came to her face. "But you quickly got bored." _With me? With the peaceful life? What was it, Ming? You never told me!_

With sudden fury, she unleashed a flurry of strikes. Ming recognized the Thousand Cuts style immediately but was a bit slow getting his block up, as her fist caught him squarely in the throat. He stumbled back, impressed.

"You went back to the Imperial City," she continued. "But even the beautiful Empress couldn't keep you from leaving. When the horselords attacked from the north, you and the Black Whirlwind took the Imperial Army to meet them."

"Ah, so I didn't join the army so much as I led them into battle?"

"Semantics, Ming." She feinted a backstep, drawing him closer, then kicked him in the shins. The blow did no real damage, but he grimaced from the ignominy of it.

"Are you trying to win or just embarrass me?" he asked, visibly annoyed.

"Your choice," she said, circling around him.

"Fine. So, did we beat the horselords?"

"Obviously, since the empire's still here. The battle was legendary, but it also marked your fall from grace."

"Tell me more."

"Well, there was no Glorious Strategist to concoct the perfect strategy. But you decided that you would take a small force ahead to harass the main horselord army from behind, to distract them while Black Whirlwind brought up the main army."

"Fast moving skirmishers. A good strategy," Ming said, taking his first few jabs at Dawn Star. She easily avoided the clumsy strikes of Heavenly Wave.

"Yes, you took about eight hundred soldiers and circled around behind the horselords. You were successful, and when you struck them they turned their entire army to face you, leaving their rear exposed to Black Whirlwind."

"I'm brilliant," he said, then leapt completely over her, spun and landed a fist on her solar plexus just as she turned to face him. She gasped and staggered back, clearly slowed by the blow but otherwise unharmed. He felt his blood rise, and he had to restrain himself from following up with a more damaging attack.

"Unfortunately," she managed to cough, "your scouts had failed to alert you that the horselords had also split their army. You successfully turned the main force towards you, but the other part trapped you when your group tried to leave."

"So we had to fight our way out. How many horselords are we talking here?"

"Forty thousand."

"My eight hundred troops got surrounded by forty thousand horselords? How many of us made it out?"

"Only you."

Ming dropped his fists and stopped fighting. "I was the only survivor?"

"Yes, everyone else was killed. But not before taking half of the enemy with them. When Black Whirlwind arrived with the rest of the Imperial Army, he swept over the remaining horselords like ants. To hear him tell it, he found you fighting all by yourself, bloodied beyond recognition but fighting nonetheless, a thousand horselords circling around you and another thousand dead at your feet. From a military standpoint, it was a great victory… only eight hundred casualties to turn back an entire army. You would have been a hero, Ming."

"Would have been? What happened next?"

"Apparently you decided not to return with the army, and the rumors of your destructive ways followed soon after. Some said that you had gone mad."

Ming let his gaze fall. _Perhaps I am mad._ He didn't feel like fighting anymore, and turned his gaze away. He was just about to sit down when something caught his eye. He looked up and his eyes went wide. He had no time to react, only to shout in anger and surprise as Dawn Star's flashing crescent blades came down at him. The first one cut into his shoulder, and the second barely missed his neck, slashing his chin instead.

He felt the warm blood splash into his mouth, and an indignant rage boiled through his veins. He could heal himself easily enough--their master had taught them both how to channel their energies to repair injuries--but that wasn't the point. _How dare she attack me when I'm not looking? And when I don't even have a weapon!_

He didn't have long to ponder his indignation as she came at him again in a whirl of flashing metal. He managed to duck the first few strikes but she was much faster than he ever remembered and felt the sting of pain as her final blow cut into his thigh. He felt himself cry out as he stumbled backward.

"What are you doing?" he roared.

"I hate you, Ming, and I've waited a long time for this," she rasped. "It's time for you to die!"

He looked into her eyes and was shocked at first, then enraged. There was no emotion on her face, only a cold, hard stare. She had tricked him into an unfair fight and revealed that she meant to kill him. But he was the empire's best warrior, had defeated the brothers Sun, a thousand horselords and countless other enemies. He would show her the true meaning of pain.

He switched to Thousand Cuts style and unleashed his own onslaught of punches. To his amazement, she deftly dodged and blocked his blows using a weapon style he didn't recognize, finally side-stepping his rush and swinging viciously at his midsection. He looked down in disbelief as an enormous gash opened beneath his ribs. Before he could even think about blocking, she plunged the other blade into his gut, twisting it savagely.

Ming howled in pain, grabbed at the wounds and tried to heal them. She struck again, this time burying her sword in his right lung and forcing him to the ground. He grabbed the blade with his hands and managed to force it from him, again focusing on healing the wound, but it was too late… He felt the _Other_ rising up from a hidden well of bile and rage deep within him. He realized with horror that this was what he could never remember, except during these transitions. This had happened before, and although he had resisted it every time, he could only watch helplessly as he lost control of his body.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

Dawn Star sensed that something was changing, and she took a step back to observe her childhood friend howling in pain. It had been almost impossible to hurt him so badly, and even harder to pretend not to care about it, but it had been necessary. The demon had to think that it was in mortal danger before it would show itself. She clutched the strange amulet around her neck. _You better be right about this thing, Lao Kang._

Ming's eyes rolled up into his head, and when they came down again they were tinged with a deep red. A rumble emanated from his throat, and when he spoke, it was not the voice of Furious Ming.

"You are a meddlesome insect," the low, gravely voice said.

"I want you out of his body, demon," she said firmly, the crescent blades still raised before her.

It laughed, a low, sickening laugh. "You don't remember me, do you?"

Her eyes widened as she recalled the only demon that had truly threatened them in their travels. "Ya Zhen," she spat.

It laughed again. "Yes, although I am so much more than the Ya Zhen you knew. Now, I am free. Free to move about, not constrained to any one body. Free to direct the lives of men, to rule the lives of men…"

Dawn Star's mind spun at the implications of what it was saying. Before, the demon had been confined to the body of a single person, and a small girl at that. But if what it was saying were true, that it could move from body to body…

"Yes, I can see you understand," it said with an amused rasp. "But you don't really know how. Let me show you."

With inhuman speed, it leapt at her, knocking her blades aside like wooden children's toys. She barely managed to grab the amulet around her neck before it knocked her back and landed on top of her. She looked up to find herself pinned under the body of Furious Ming but staring into the eyes of the demon Ya Zhen. Ming's hands were around her neck, crushing her, preventing her from breathing.

_"I am more powerful than you can imagine," _Ya Zhen spoke again, but the voice came from within her mind. _"When Ming helped Chai Ka defeat me, a part of me slipped out. I found myself in a snail. It was insulting. But the snail was poisonous, and it was eaten by a raven, which died. To my great surprise, I found I could inhabit the raven, and animate it. I began to realize the potential."_

Dawn Star knew that she was choking to death, and she knew she had to activate Lord Lao's amulet soon. But she also wanted to hear the demon's story, if only because of the terrible implication it contained. Had Furious Ming also died at some point? _Tell me more, _she thought.

The demon seemed pleased with her submission. Like most demons, Ya Zhen was vain. _"As the raven, I killed a poisonous snake, and I became the snake. As the snake, I waited so very patiently and finally killed a tiger with my venom. As a tiger, I could finally achieve my true goal. I killed my first human, an unsuspecting horselord." _It laughed its sickening laugh in her mind.

She felt her heart sink. So it was true. Ming had fallen at the hands of the horselords and the demon had animated his corpse. But no one had known it because everyone with him had also died that day.

_"Yes, of course your precious Ming was killed. No one man can stand against forty thousand. I found him slain on the battlefield, and I recognized him instantly. Imagine my elation! The greatest fighter of our time free for the taking. And imagine the surprise of the horselords when I did! No matter, as a demon-man, we were unbeatable. We killed thousands until the stupid big man showed up."_

Dawn Star felt the life slipping out of her, but still she wanted to know more. _Why?_

_"Why else? To rule the affairs of man. With Ming's body, I figured it would be easy to kill the Empress, and when I took her body, the whole of the Jade Empire would be mine."_

_I guess your plans didn't work out, _Dawn Star thought, mentally smirking at the demon.

_"They are delayed, that is all. Ming was difficult to control, not like the others before him. He would fight me, and go crazy for times rather than give me control. Eventually, I managed to get him to the floating palace, only to be thwarted by an imperial decoy. I must admit, you humans are crafty in ways that I am still learning to understand. But no matter, once I kill you, I will take your body and request an audience with the Empress. You will be much easier to control."_

_Except that we humans are craftier than you imagine, _she thought as her mind swooned from lack of oxygen. She pressed a small button on the amulet hidden in the palm of her hand. It began to glow and emit a high-pitched screech. Almost immediately, the hands on her neck let go, and Ming's body fell to the side, twitching convulsively.

"What have you done?" Ya Zhen screamed, this time using Ming's voice.

Dawn Star coughed and gasped for air. She didn't feel at all like explaining. She knew that the heart of the inscrutable power source would draw in supernatural energy like a sponge. That's how the strange device was able to power the enormous flyers and other magical machinery of the Jade Empire. Or at least that's what Lord Lao had told her; he had explicitly given her this one as a demon ward, saying it was a high capacitance model that could induct even greater demons, or something technical to that effect.

"Wait!" Ya Zhen screamed. "Without me, your precious Ming will die!"

The realization that Ming had died on the battlefield that day was hard for her to accept. A part of her feared that Ya Zhen was telling the truth, that without the demon to animate his body, Ming might return to his former state--dead. She hesitated, her finger on the button of the power source. She could still stop the inductance…

"No," she said finally. "Ming would not want to live like this."

"But he does want to live! He wants to live _with _you. He yearns for you!"

"Now I know you're lying, demon. Ming has no feelings for me." Dawn Star felt a sharp pain in her chest to say it, even though she had admitted it to herself long ago.

"No, you are wrong! He--"

Ya Zhen tried to protest further, but the draining effect of the device rendered its screams incomprehensible.

Dawn Star watched in morbid fascination as Ming's body tossed and turned in impossible contortions, all the while screaming incoherently as the demon was drawn into the power source. It seemed interminable, and she grew increasingly uncomfortable as the seconds turned to minutes.

Abruptly, the high-pitched screech ceased, leaving the room in an eerie silence. She glanced down at the power source in her hand, wondering if she had stopped it herself. But the button was still depressed. The small device was glowing white, and the words of Lord Lao filled her mind: "It will glow, red at first, then orange, yellow, green, etcetera, and you'll know it's full when the light is white."

She nodded and took off the power source, placing it in a pocket. Ming no longer screamed, but lay still on the cold, stone floor. She kneeled next to his motionless body and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Ming," she said tenderly, running her hand along his skin.

There was no response, and his arm felt cold to her touch. She lowered her head, a wave of remorse rushing over her.

Then he twitched.

"Ming!" she said again, this time turning him so that he lay on his back. She leaned over him, searching his face for signs of life. For a long instant, there was nothing.

His eyes flew open.

Dawn Star jumped back, horrified. _The eyes were red_.

"You meddling insect," the low voice of Ya Zhen croaked. Before she could react, Ming's hand flew up and grabbed her wrist, twisting her arm backwards. She felt the bone snap with a loud pop and a searing rush of pain swept over her. With terrible fury, it grabbed her with its other hand and flung her against the stone wall.

As she crumpled to the floor grabbing at her broken arm, it stood up and glared down at her. "You can drain me, but you can't kill me!" it roared.

She looked up at the demon, then around at the spirit cave. She saw no means of escape. Her only chance had been to capture it, or to kill the body it had inhabited. But now, with the inscrutable power source filled to capacity, without her blades and with a broken arm, that didn't seem very likely.

She contemplated her imminent death as the demon stalked towards her slowly, menacingly, and realized that her only real regret was that she had never actually told Ming that she loved him. Not that it would have changed his own feelings for her, and not that it would have stopped him from leaving, but… could it have? She would never know now.

The demon stopped to pick up one of Dawn Star's fallen crescent blades. "Before I kill you, I think I will show you the true meaning of pain."

Somewhere in the murky recesses of his mind, Ming knew what was going on. He had been forced to watch many times before. He had fought it many times before, always without success. But this time something was different. The _Other_ had been weakened somehow, and perhaps more importantly, he could _feel _something. Normally he felt nothing. When he had resisted the _Other _before, he had waded through entire villages, hacking and cutting his way through the madness in a murderous rampage, and had never felt a thing. He had even felt nothing when he had burst into the Imperial Bedroom and supposedly murdered his other lover, Empress Lian the Heavenly Lily. But this time, it was different.

He felt a cold weight in his hand, and forced himself with great effort to look down. The sword looked vaguely familiar. With enormous concentration, he forced his eyes to follow the length of the blade.

A beautiful woman recoiled in front of him, her face a hopeless picture of resignation. He didn't recognize her, and yet he felt something.

The hand with the blade raised, and she turned her face away.

"No," Ming said simply, and commanded his arm to lower.

"_What do you mean, no!" _Ya Zhen roared.

"I cannot let you harm this woman."

_"She is an insect, and you will obey me!"_

"I will not harm this woman."

Dawn Star looked up, her eyes wide, daring to hope. _Perhaps the demon is toying with me. But what if it isn't?_

"Ming!" she cried out.

He raised a hand, slowly.

"I do not know who you are, gentle one. I only know that you are very important to me."

"It's me, Dawn Star!" she pleaded.

"The name is vaguely familiar. I must ask a great favor of you, Dawn Star."

"Anything, Ming," she said.

"You must take this blade and strike me down."

Dawn Star looked back at him in horror. "But you're back! You're in control again."

"Only just barely. It cannot last. Even now, the Other whispers in my head." He let the blade tumble from his limp fingers. It clattered to the ground, piercing the silence of the great cavern.

She knew he was right, but attacking someone in self defense was different than striking down a friend who still had a chance. She reached down to retrieve the blade, then hesitated.

"Do it," he said. "Before it's too late."

"Oh Ming," she said, reaching a hand out to his face. His skin still felt cool to her fingers.

"I know that touch," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "Dawn Star!"

"Yes. It's me," she said, her voice cracking.

"There is something I must tell you, but then you must promise to carry out my wishes."

She nodded, her heart heavy.

"I remember everything. And I died, before this atrocity brought me back."

"I know."

"But before I died, my last thoughts were of you. While I lived, I fought an internal battle between lust and love, and unfortunately lust won out. Lust for adventure, lust for… other things."

She swallowed and looked away, knowing what he meant. Lust for _Heavenly_ delights. What man wouldn't lust after a woman like Sun Lian or her slinky alter ego, Silk Fox?

"But in death," he continued. "In death, only love matters. I couldn't say it in life, so…"

His voice faltered.

"I love you, too!" she cried, her eyes filling with tears. Against her better judgment, she threw her arms around him and kissed him deeply. She half expected the demon to start laughing and then crush her, but the deception never materialized. Ming kissed her back, at least as well as he could in his half-aware state. When she pulled back, she looked into his eyes, which sparkled in the torchlight. "We can beat this, Ming! I'll get another inscrutable power source, or--"

He shook his head. "I know what you only fear to know, that this body is held together by the power of the demon. Without it, my flesh will fall apart and my spirit will float away to rejoin the great wheel, as it should have done years ago. Now, you _must _finish this."

"But how…" she said weakly, the tears flowing freely now.

"With joy in your heart. How many have died without a chance to tell the ones they love how they really feel?"

She nodded, wiping away her tears.

"Now hurry! I can feel the Other coming again…"

She gripped the cold blade in her hand. It would be the last and most difficult blow she would ever land with it.

_I will always love you, Ming. In life and in death._

Her blow was swift and true.


	6. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

Lord Lao heaved a satisfied sigh and leaned back against the trunk of a heavenly dragon tree. The young fox spirits in front of him stared up at him, their eyes expecting more.

"That's it?" one of the older ones asked. "It ends with the human woman killing the one she loves?"

"Yes. At least, that's where I end this story." Lord Lao explained.

"You mean, there's more, but you're not telling us?"

"There is always more, little one. But we storytellers must decide where to begin, and where to end."

"But that's a terrible place to end!"

"I don't think so," Lord Lao replied. "It's a rather good place. Poignant, touching, even a little tragic."

They all shook their heads in unison. "But what happened to the demon?" one asked. "What did the human woman do afterwards?" another implored. "What does poignant mean?" the littlest one asked.

"It's a story, not a mechanical diagram! You're not supposed to have all the answers!"

"Tell us! Tell us! We want answers!" they began chanting.

"Sorry. No."

They began wailing, their voices combining into a chorus of pitiful cries. Lord Lao put his hands to his ears.

"Fine! Fine! It's clear you foxes can't appreciate a good dramatic ending, so… I'll continue!"

The fox spirits broke into a raucous cheer. When it quieted down, Lord Lao spoke again.

"Dawn Star waited over the slain body of Furious Ming for an over an hour, crying softly. She was so attuned to the spiritual world that she knew his spirit had not risen. The demon Ya Zhen would not let his body die without another host to inhabit."

The fox spirit children began hissing at the mention of the name Ya Zhen. "What did she do?" one of the younger foxes called out, her voice plaintive.

"She had her students prepare a grand funeral pyre, and placed his slain body upon it. She figured if she destroyed the body, the demon would be forced to leave."

"But wouldn't the demon just jump to another dead body?" one of the boy foxes asked.

"When I said I would continue, I didn't mean you could keep asking questions! But yes, you are very observant, little one. Dawn Star had realized that possibility, and she had the area carefully cleared, except for one small dead rat she hid near the base of the funeral pyre. As the blazes consumed Ming's body, she felt his spirit finally rise and knew he was free. Then she rushed to where she had hidden the dead rat, and sure enough, it was alive!"

"Did they catch it?" several foxes cried.

"They didn't have to. The students had built a trap around it, so that as soon as it moved, a metal cage fell on it. Humans can be really quite clever sometimes."

"Not as clever as fox spirits!" they all chimed.

"Well, no, perhaps not as clever as a fox spirit. Or as talkative. Now please, no more questions!"

"So what happened next?" the littlest one asked.

Lord Lao sighed, then laughed good-naturedly. It was hard for him to remain cross, especially at fox spirit children. "They burned the rat, too! There was a tremendous explosion--I wish I could have been there--but everyone was safe because, you know, you generally don't stand next to a funeral pyre while it's burning."

"But did they really kill the demon?"

"I've checked with the Celestial Bureaucracy, and they are quite certain the demon was banished. Without a host, its kind cannot remain in the mortal realm."

The fox children gave a satisfied sigh of relief. But the littlest one still looked troubled. "But the human woman, she didn't get to be with her true love?"

"Look, I'll tell you a little secret, but you have to promise not to tell any humans."

"We never tell humans anything!" they all chimed together.

"Oh yes, I suppose that's correct. Well, as you know, Furious Ming was quite the Celestial celebrity, since he defeated the Terrible Mother and restored the Water Dragon and all that other good stuff from last week's story, right?"

They all nodded.

"Well, his spirit traveled from the funeral pyre and arrived at the Great Wheel, which as you know is presided over by the Water Dragon. She had already returned him to life once, so she couldn't send him back again. But so great was her appreciation to Furious Ming--and really, he did more in his time than most minor deities do over an eternity--that she convinced the Celestial Bureaucracy to allow him to live out his normal life in his own personal slice of heaven."

The fox spirits smiled and cooed. "Hey, we can go visit him!" one of the older boys shouted.

"Yes. I suppose, if you wanted to."

"But what about the human woman?" the littlest fox girl demanded.

Lord Lao took a deep breath, then shook his head.

"Look, Lord Lao is a little out of breath and not ready to tell the whole story of "The Ascension of Furious Ming," so why don't we just go visit him now and you can see for yourself?"

The fox spirits all cheered and clapped their hands.

Lord Lao took a small triangular contraption from one of his many bags, and a blinding flash of light enveloped them all.

Ming's heaven looked a lot like that of the fox spirits. There were grassy knolls floating above and below them, and strange plants sprouted at all angles from them. But on the main knoll, there were terrestrial plants as well, and an abundance of earthly flowers.

Ming was weeding a bed of midnight primrose--_weeds, in heaven!_--when the flash of light announced the arrival of his old friend Lord Lao. This time, however, Lao was followed by no fewer than nine small fox spirits, their small eyes gleaming brightly behind their rosy pointed noses.

"Mad Kang!" Ming called, using Lord Lao's old name.

"Hello friend," Lord Lao replied with a wave, and then motioned to the fox spirits around him. "Hope you don't mind, I brought some friends."

"Not at all." Ming turned to a small house built out of red rosewood. "Visitors!" he bellowed.

There was a pause, and then came the sound of running footsteps. A small boy and girl, no more than three years old, emerged in the doorway. Their eyes widened at the sight of the fox spirits, and they rushed forward with a shout of glee.

The fox spirits, too, laughed and ran to meet the small humans.

"Children!" came another voice from within the house, and a second later, a beautiful woman dressed in red emerged.

"You must be the human woman!" the littlest fox spirit shouted.

She smiled warmly at the small fox spirits. "And you must be friends of Lord Lao."

They all nodded. The small boy and girl pulled up in front of the closest fox spirit, and they watched each other with great interest.

"These are our children, Ming Sky and Ming Lian. The guy over there with all the tattoos is Furious Ming, and I am Dawn Star."

Ming Sky and Ming Lian held out their hands in greeting. The fox spirits sniffed them.

"Ah, before I forget," Lord Lao said, "and you know how often I do that, the Empress wanted me to invite you to the annual Sun Festival."

"She couldn't ask us herself?" he asked.

"Now dear, there's no need for that," Dawn Star said. "She _is_ the Empress and very busy as such. Tell her the children and I will attend, as always."

"Very good." Lord Lao turned to Ming. "You know, I really am sorry you can't leave here. I've talked with the Celestial Bureaucracy but--"

"Lao, it's okay. I have everything I need here." He looked over at Dawn Star. "But sometimes I wonder why she stays with me."

Dawn Star merely smiled back.

"Won't you all join us for tea in the garden?" she asked.

The fox spirits tittered their approval, and Lord Lao herded them towards a gazebo nestled in a flourishing bed of crimson dragon tulips. The children Ming Sky and Ming Lian skipped after them, trying in vain to grab hold of their bushy tails.

Dawn Star reached out and took Ming's hand. Before she could lead him towards the gazebo, he pulled her into an embrace and kissed her quickly, surprising her. He put his other hand on her waist, then let it drop to her thigh.

"Ming!" she said, looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching. "Sometimes I think the Water Dragon restored too much of your vitality."

"The Water Dragon seeks balance in all things. There's nothing wrong with lust when it's balanced by love."

"Well, I guess that makes sense--"

"Good! Then I'd like a moment with you after our guests are gone." And he looked into her eyes with a mixture of both affection and desire.

She blushed and dropped her eyes, but couldn't deny the joy in her heart.

From the gazebo, the fox spirits peeked around a sparkling fountain as Lord Lao tactfully looked the other way. He cleared his throat.

"Someday I will tell you the whole story of the 'Ascension of Furious Ming.' But for now, you can see that it has a happy ending. Are you satisfied?"

The fox spirits all nodded in unison. "I hope I can find as true a love someday," the littlest one gushed.

"Just remember all the difficulties and challenges they faced," Lord Lao said with a hint of warning in his voice. Then he snuck a quick glance at the happy couple, and couldn't help but smile. Indeed, they had found peace at last; at least as far as the last or most recent story he could tell of them.

The future was anyone's guess, even for a minor deity like Lord Lao. The only certainty was that if there were more stories to come, he would tell them.

**THE END**


End file.
